wellness
Why Wellness is Not Overrated
I have a strong, but unusual opinion on the health and wellness industry. If you ever read any of my prior writing, you know I was born with a rare metabolic disease. I write frequently about it. What makes metabolic disease especially interesting is the fact that this cohort of conditions are most often treated with extremely restrictive diets that are difficult to maintain and counter to social norms. Imagine the strictness of a body-building diet, but for a lifetime, and with severe health consequences if not followed.
My dietary restriction was protein. My prescription diet required me to limit myself to 7g of protein a day, every day of my life. The most simplistic explanation is: I was never able to eat any meat, poultry, eggs, fish, legumes, beans, seeds, nuts, dairy, soy, and I had to avoid most grains. Food restrictions for the sake of health were my life. I never received basic nutrition guidance, because it was not relevant. My medical team was most concerned about my brain health. Traditional healthy choices were off-limits for me.
I grew up weighing and measuring every bite of food I ate. When I could count numbers, my mom gave me a chart to use to add up every gram of protein I ate. I filled in a square with a marker whenever I ate something. When I hit the line at the top of my chart, I had to stop eating for the…
